Johannesburg - The pressure that comes with wanting to win every match and improve the players’ understanding doesn’t allow Mamelodi Sundowns the room to rotate.
Sundowns had a busy transfer window, bolstering their squad with top local and overseas-born internationals, including Bafana’s No. 1 Ronwen Williams.
Williams was quickly thrown into the deep end at his new home, playing all matches so far as the No. 1 ahead of Africa's former finest Denis Onyango.
The former SuperSport United No. 1 has been impressive, keeping seven clean sheets in 11 matches in all competitions in domestic football.
With the team starting the Champions League group stage qualifiers on Sunday against minnows La Passe, Williams would be expected to be rested.
That might not necessarily be the case, though. This comes with the pressure of wanting to win every game, improving teamwork and selecting on merit.
“We use the games to improve the team,” co-coach Rhulani Mokwena said after being quizzed on why they also keep the same team against minnows.
“That’s why it’s important even against the lesser-known teams to take those games seriously. You are representing a club that wants to win every game.
“You also have the responsibility of respecting your own players. The players want to play, and with each other in each and every game to try to improve.
“They want to improve the team cohesion and telepathy. At the same time, you want to make the players understand they get on the pitch on merit.”
The odds favour Downs to reach the group stage of the Champions League, given that both legs of the qualifiers will be played at Loftus, starting on Sunday.
That’s why by the time the return leg is played in a weeks’ time, Downs are expected to have all but done the job in the first leg in the nation’s capital.
But the 2016 African Kings are not getting ahead of themselves as they know the complexities that come with playing the same opponent back-to-back.
After all, they had an awakening against rivals SuperSport United whom they beat in the first match in the MTN8 before losing in the league.
“It’s always tricky to play the same team twice, you see it in the league. It's not easy. The advantage is that there is less traveling for us,” Mokwena said.
“From that perspective you’ve got a mental plus physical advantage. There’s no enduring travelling and psychological fatigue of being in a foreign country.
“We have to play the same 90 minutes with a good attitude against a side that's organised. When you look at the formation, there’s some coaching.”
A good display from Sundowns over La Passe could lay a good foundation in ensuring that they come out tops in the competition after a six-year drought.
Recently, the closest they've come to winning the African crown was in 2018 when they reached the semis, but they’ve since crashed out in the quarters.
IOL Sport